AUGUSTA – Stewart Cink didn’t have much fun the last couple of days at Augusta National, but he had a blast on No. 16 on Friday.
The PGA Tour veteran out of Georgia Tech made the first hole-in-one of the 2022 Masters. It ended up being the perfect birthday present for his son Reagan, who continues to caddie for his father.
“That’s the extent of my birthday present,” Cink said. “I gave him the ball. That should be enough, right?”
Coming to the 16 tee at 8-over par in the second round of the tournament with little hope of making the cut, Cink hit his tee shot -- an 8-iron from 166 yards -- high on the hill to about 30 feet right of the pin. His ball stopped quickly and tracked straight down the hill toward the pond and began to break toward the pin. It almost came close to stopping before finally dropping into the cup.
The well-witnessed ace set off a scene of pandemonium around the iconic hole. Cink and his son/caddie Reagan embraced. They jumped up and down for a second, then double-high-fived as they released. Playing partner Harry Higgs, who had walked away from the tee box, ran back for a full-on hug. Georgia Bulldog Brian Harman even returned for a knuckle exchange.
“The neat part about it was, as the ball got closer down to the hole, I knew it was going in because the patrons in the front left all were watching it online and they knew it was in, and they all got up,” Cink said. “When they got up, I knew it wasn’t missing. So that was cool. It was really neat out there.”
Cink missed the cut at 7-over par for the tournament. The hole-in-one was the 33rd in Masters tournament history after two were recorded last year.
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